Chapter 1: Breakfast

Chapter 1: Breakfast

Based on our the analysis of our first post, our story will revolve around the

Theme:

Self-discovery

Relationships

Survival

Genre:

Horror(Zombie)

Action

Adventure

Zombie Physiology:

This time around, lets talk about the occurrence of the zombie apocalypse. Fear the Walking Dead, a darker spin-off of The Walking Dead series opened up some interesting theories of zombie origin. An article from MoviePilot suggested three theories based off Fear the Walking Dead that involve drugs, water and mother nature. While water spread viruses and nature cleansing sounds like plausible causes, CinemaBlend‘s theory adds up to the drug conclusion because we do not see anyone dealing with polio or mumps. While those conditions would severely lower the chances of survival, the absence of them suggests that it may be that a drug designed to cure them has turned against humanity. Season 1 Finale of The Walking Dead established that the zombie condition takes over once the person is dead.

Let’s take a look at another film to confirm our theories. In Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend, the zombie apocalypse began as a cure for cancer. The cure, later known as the Krippin Virus, eradicated the majority of human population. However, the undead in this motion picture showed signs of intelligence and emotion. The movie’s protagonist, played by Will Smith, explained this as a hive mentality.

To pick and pluck from all the amazing theories out there, I have concluded that our story will take on the medical blunders that creates the mindless zombies. The zombies in the narrative are created by a vaccine meant to prevent a major disease that reanimates dead cells. In short, even when the person dies of natural causes or an ill fate, the vaccine preserves the singular brain function, hunger.

Setting:

The best advise to writing a story is to keep it close at home, where details come easy. With that principle, our story will start at Lincoln Nebraska, home of the Cornhuskers and land of cows.

Chapter 1: Breakfast

September 16, 2016 – If there was one good thing to come of insomnia, it is the time I got to prepare a wholesome breakfast. The oven is ticking and once again, I found myself befuddled by the world’s greatest cut of steak.

My rib eye lay cold on the counter as I flipped out my phone to google the all important question of life, does the searing or the oven come first. The clock ticked 7 and it was finally in the oven. With not a second to lose, I set the temperature and rushed into the shower.

This has been routine for the last few weeks, waking up at 4 with severe sleep deprivation and finding myself in a state of restlessness. Cooking has become my favorite time killer because it gave me an opportunity to rest my mind, more than the naps I sneaked into my stats class. My doctor told me to go easy on Strattera, but no amount of studies or PhDs could help her understand what it means to have ADHD.

As I got out of the shower, the cold morning air hit me. I felt goosebumps across my bare chest and let out a short groan. It feels good to be in the company of fall. As I prepared my pan with oil and garlic, the oven let out a smell of smoke. Instantly, I reached down to pull the handle but the scent of heaven greeted me instead. The sauce had dripped down the sides again because I was too stingy with the size of my broiler pan.

“OUCH”

I had reminded myself never to grab the pan without my mitts but it seemed to escape me every time. I’d blame it on the ADHD but it seems like my skin is addicted to pain. Icy cold water comes in handy during time like these, where my brain begs for rest and my body urges for action. With one hand in a bowl and the other on a wooden spatula, I flipped my steak and listened to the sizzling. The sound of oil bouncing off red meat has been my guilty pleasure for the longest time. I set the steak back into the oven and pulled out my favorite plate.

My phone vibrated in my pocket as my knife parted the meat. It’s 30 minutes to class and I was barely through my first bite. Savagery took over and I sunk my teeth into the medium-rare steak. My phone beeped again and I was about to be late for my only class of the day. With great regret, I shove my half eaten steak into the oven and slung my backpack on.

Next week:

Character development is the focus of our first chapter because I find it important for the readers to know who is our player. Next week, we will look at post-apocalyptic psychology and chapter 2.